Improvement in protectors for soles of boots and shoes



A. F. SOHURR. Protector for Soles of Boots and Shoes.

N0. 20I,I28. Patented March 12, 1878.

INVEN'TDR.

5 E s s E N T w UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST F. SOHURR, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROTECTORS FOR SOLES 0F BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 201,128. dated March 12, 1878 application'filed February 15, 1878.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST F. ScHURR, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Shoe and Boot Sole Protectors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in shoe and boot sole protectors; and it consists in the construction of a metal plate provided with protuberanees, air holes, and flange, which plate is to be adapted to the soles of shoes or boots, to protect them against the injurious effects of heat or fire to which men workin g in foundries are exposed.

The accompanying drawing represents my invention.

A is a metal plate, of a form and size to fit the boot or shoe to which it is to be applied. The end a of the plate pointing toward the heel of the shoe is formed as shown in the drawing, to prevent the breaking of the soles when dry, which invariably occurs when the plate terminates in a straight line across from one side to the other. At the under side of the plate are diagonal rows of pyramidal (obtuse) protuberances b b b, and between them are rows of holes 01 d d, as large as the distance between the former allows. These protuberances are sufficiently high to keep the plate from coming in contact with the heated surface upon which the foot may be placed, to prevent the slipping of the wearer, and keep the plate from becoming so much heated as to bui'n the leather of the shoes. The holes between the protuberances serve to admit air, by which the soles of the shoes are cooled, or to apply other means should the heat become too intense.

The end of the plate A nearest the toes g is also shaped to prevent the breaking of the soles; but, in addition, a piece, K, similar to the plate and provided with a flange, f, extending from the inside around the toes, may be fitted in, so as to protect the sole from end to end. This piece K may, however, be omitted, since many prefer to do without it.

Along the inside of the plate A is a flange, f, of the height of the thickness of the soles generally worn on this class of shoes. This flange protects the sole at its inside, where it is most exposed; and if the front piece K is added to the plate ,A, the flanges of both unite, and form a continuous guard along the inside and around the toe of the shoe.

In foundries or iron-mills, where the ground is frequently heated, the workingmen find it very diflicult to protect their shoes from being burned and destroyed by the heat. It has, therefore, been a common practice to cover the bottoms of their shoes or boots with hob-nails, and not only the bottoms but the inside edges of the soles also. So long as the shoes are .new and the nails not much heated, they give the desired protection but when heated they burn the leather, become loose, and drop on. My object, therefore, is to provide a better protection, and my invention, having been tried, remedies the defects found in others.

Y Having thus described my invention, I claim The plate A, provided with diagonal rows of obtuse pyramidal protuberances, having holes d between them, and a flange, f, at its inner edge, to protect the soles of shoes or boots from the effects of heat, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this.5th day of February, 1878.

AUGUST F. SCHURR. 

